Apple Computer

[Lost in LOS]

I have always had windows computers. My last one, a top of the line acer, is falling apart after a year+. Time for a new one and not acer. Many people suggest going to apple desktop. I have been avoiding it since I know windows well and have all my programs etc. If I did get an apple system what do I do with my excell, wordperfect , word files etc.?

I know nothing about apple computers. I would like a top of the line, fast, lots of memory, big hard drive etc. What do I look for? What is the price range? Where is the best place to shop. I live in Pattaya but could travel to Bangkok if I must

thanks for any help, if I do it, it will be a big step

[Tywais]

Microsoft Office is available as a native application for the Mac > Compatibility.

You also have VMWare, VirtualBox, Parallels that can virtualize windows applications.

[JusMe]

In North America, and I'd presume here in Thailand too, the Apple stores offer to help you transfer files from a PC to your Mac and show you how to translate them into Mac applications (unless something is very complex, it can usually be translated) or use MS made for Mac products, as Tywais has pointed out.

Short steep learning curve, yes, but definitely worth making the effort.

Check out the Mac sites for specifications on different models.

Unfortunately, there's little negotiation on prices - most are preset by Macintosh. No competition on pricing, but you can sometimes ask for extras.

I've got a good book in pdf format about changing from the PC to the Mac, if you'd like a copy. Just let me know.

[nikster]

I believe for all questions that may arise, you can ask in the Apple forums.

In addition, there's some switcher videos at Apple's site, I think.

There's only a handful of things you need to know, after that it should be very easy. I just helped a friend with a switch like this, and he hasn't asked me anything in a few weeks now. I just told him a list of useful free programs to install, and that was it.

As in:

VLC to play all media downloaded from the internet

Perian to make QuickTime player play all media - almost as much as VLC

iWork for text editing (Pages, Numbers)

MS Office 2011 in case you really want to stay in MS-land - nothing wrong with it, this stuff works reasonably well and you absolutely need it if you exchange files with people who use MS products.

You don't need anti virus software...

All in all the quality of freeware is much higher on the Mac, there's lots of fantastic programs for free. Whereas on Windows, it's either nagware, or crappy, or (often) both.

Are you looking for a desktop or laptop? Either way both are really good quality but for laptops I'd recommend getting AppleCare 3 year extended warranty.

[Lost in LOS]

reading this I look at the apple thailand site

http://store.apple.c...mco=MTg1ODE1MzE

looks like a lot of money if i get the options, like 121,000 bath. Good choices? I can afford it if this is the way to go. Software enough for internet, excell and word type files? Is it hard to upgrade later? I picked the high memory and hard drive so it will hopefully last a long time and still be current

27" mac

# 2.93GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7

# 16GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 4x4GB

# 1TB Serial ATA Drive

# 8x double-layer SuperDrive

# ATI Radeon HD 5750 1GB GDDR5 SDRAM

# Apple Wireless Keyboard (Thai) & User's Guide (Thai)

# Magic Mouse

# iWork preinstalled

# AppleCare Protection Plan for iMac- Auto-enroll

Edited December 11, 2010 by Lost in LOS

[VerbalKint]

Word and excel both won't take up a lot of RAM, and you'd need to have an extreme amount of word and excel files to fill up 1 tb of harddrive space.

I would say a dual core with 4Gb Ram 1Tb of harddisk space and a 1Tb external drive for backup (maybe a time capsule if you don't like cables) and a keyboard with numeric keypad (excel) would be more than enough.

Ram can always be added later if you need it.

[Traxster]

Stick with what you know

'Apple Mac' is a whole new world

[negreanu]

You would be CRAZY to buy 16GB memory for the imac from Apple.

36000THB for 16GB from Apple.

7500THB for 16GB from OWC (Macsales.com) who deliver to Thailand by DHL in 3 days!

If you are going to spend 121,000THB on a MAC I suggest you go for this from the education store. MAC PRO.

Advantages over imac:

CPU upgradability to an extent.

Choice of Display

Far more internal capacity for storage, 4 HD's 2 opticals or 6 HD's and no Optical.

Memory limit much higher and easy to upgrade

Lightening fast graphics card ATI 5870 1GB available and user upgradeable for the future

PCI Express slots for anything you want too add

Far more connections ref Ethernet, Firewire USB, Audio.

Get the Mac Pro when your upto that price range it will last you for 5+ years. External storage on the imac can be done and have done it many times - however it's not a easy thing to do and voids your warranty. no such issue with the mac pro especially if you take extended Apple care for 3years.

Top of the line is the MAC PRO there is nothing faster or better in the mac range. But it's not cheap. But you can relax in the knowledge you have the best and can upgrade easily everything. Combine it with Dual 27" Cinema displays on the 5870 1GB for the ultimate enjoyment

Edited December 12, 2010 by negreanu

[motoyen]

No need to get 16GB of RAM for an iMac. For that amount of money you could get the base level iMac and a MacBook Air or iPad to compliment your desktop.

[Thaddeus]

Stick with what you know

'Apple Mac' is a whole new world

You're not a big fan of progress then?

[Lost in LOS]

thanks for the replies, I will consider them all and look at what I get more carefully.

What program do I use to run xcels and word? I have lots of files I cant lose

Someone mentioned there is a lot of free quality software available, where do I get that.

Sorry for sounding ignorant but I have been using ibm type computers for 30 years and this is a new thing for me. I have an iPhone 4 which I love so this will compliment it.

I am going to the apple store today at Central in Pattaya and will be able to talk to the guy with some knowledge thanks to you guys, really appreciate it. A friend told me there is a guy that works there with lots of knowledge and speaks fluent English. Will report back

[VerbalKint]

for excel and word you can get microsoft office for mac (a mac version of the same software you are using on your windows machine) or use iwork.

Iwork is a lot cheaper and I like it better, but you might find it easier to use ms office.

[Lost in LOS]

for excel and word you can get microsoft office for mac (a mac version of the same software you are using on your windows machine) or use iwork.

Iwork is a lot cheaper and I like it better, but you might find it easier to use ms office.

Will I be able to put my existing excell and word files in Iwork or will have to start new?

[Lost in LOS]

You would be CRAZY to buy 16GB memory for the imac from Apple.

36000THB for 16GB from Apple.

7500THB for 16GB from OWC (Macsales.com) who deliver to Thailand by DHL in 3 days!

will that void the warranty if I install that, wont i have to break the seal to do it?

[negreanu]

no memory is user replaceable on the imac. its a small cover on the bottom of the unit. No seals etc. it shows u how in the small manual that comes with the imac.

iWork is fully compatible with Micrsoft Office file formats.

I also converted to iworks and like it better. Although the new Microsoft office for Mac is pretty decent now.

Correction to my above post i typed external storage i meant to type Internal storage. Internal storage upgrade on imac is a nightmare to do and a warranty voider. internal storage on Mac Pro is easy (2 min job) and does not void your warranty.

Edited December 12, 2010 by negreanu

[Lost in LOS]

Went to the Istudio store at central and talked to a salesman. Perfect english and understanding of the system. ordering what I want will be 4-5 weeks. ordered from applethailand online, supposed to be 4 working days, we shall see

my order:

27" mac

# 2.93GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7

# 4GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 4x4GB

# 2TB Serial ATA Drive

# 8x double-layer SuperDrive

# ATI Radeon HD 5750 1GB GDDR5 SDRAM

# Apple Wireless Keyboard (Thai) & User's Guide (Thai)

# Magic Mouse

# iWork preinstalled

# AppleCare Protection Plan for iMac- Auto-enroll

83,288 baht

thanks to negreanu telling me how to order memory, I did and :

36000THB for 16GB from Apple.

7500THB for 16GB from OWC

New Total 83,288 [+ memory 7,677 [used regular US mail which is better than special mail] for a total of 90,965 instead of the original price of 120,455 [and I upgraded hard drive to 2 Tb]

thanks to all for all the help. Anyone wanting to buy a great, used, ibm top of the line system let me know, I am now an apple man

[negreanu]

The SSD and 2TB combo is a good thing in the imac's as it gives you 2 internal drive bays as well as the speed of the ssd. for future upgrading post warranty.

[negreanu]

Note if you ordered the above imac from APPLE store direct store.apple.com/th-k12 (Education store) you would save a few thousand baht and will have it delivered by DHL within a week of ordering.

They never check about the education thing. Been ordering maybe 4-5 machines a year to thailand with this method and never a problem.

They do not even stick to the machine limits ie 1 desktop per year and 1 laptop per year.....brilliant

Edited December 12, 2010 by negreanu

[Lost in LOS]

My new computer should be here in the next couple of days. I had problems ordering the memory becasue american express didnt want them to send to thailand, but finally fixed that up with amx but took 4 days.

My question is, I have a second, removable, hard drive in my windows computer that I can slide out easily. I have dragged all my files to this drive, without using a program. I understand if I did it that way I can slide info into my new mac. How do I connect the drive from windows to my new computer, is there a cable I must buy or a box for the drive? It will need power etc. Does anyone know so I can get this set up

thanks

[Nawak]

Someone mentioned there is a lot of free quality software available, where do I get that.

You can have a look at Freemacware . There is a very large choice of softwares by categories and every soft has a direct link to the developper's website.

[Nawak]

My new computer should be here in the next couple of days. I had problems ordering the memory becasue american express didnt want them to send to thailand, but finally fixed that up with amx but took 4 days.

My question is, I have a second, removable, hard drive in my windows computer that I can slide out easily. I have dragged all my files to this drive, without using a program. I understand if I did it that way I can slide info into my new mac. How do I connect the drive from windows to my new computer, is there a cable I must buy or a box for the drive? It will need power etc. Does anyone know so I can get this set up

thanks

If your external disk is in a USB or firewire box there is no problem. Mac OSX can read FAT and NTFS, just switch the USB or firewire 400/800 cable in your iMac and it will mount on your desktop. Then use the Finder to copy the files on your Mac.

So just by a box and put your drive in it.

Edited December 16, 2010 by Nawak

[Lost in LOS]

I am getting my new mac computer monday. I am currently moving files from my windows computer to an external hard drive. My question is: I will have iTunes on my new computer but I have lots of content on iTunes in my Windows computer. Are these songs stored somewhere on my computer now, and if so, how do I get them to my new computer?

thanks in advance

[Lost in LOS]

I am getting my new mac computer monday. I am currently moving files from my windows computer to an external hard drive. My question is: I will have iTunes on my new computer but I have lots of content on iTunes in my Windows computer. Are these songs stored somewhere on my computer now, and if so, how do I get them to my new computer?

thanks in advance

just found this after much searching: think this will work, anyone done it?

http://www.tunequest.org/migrating-your-itunes-library-from-windows-to-mac/20061105/

[Lost in LOS]

You would be CRAZY to buy 16GB memory for the imac from Apple.

36000THB for 16GB from Apple.

7500THB for 16GB from OWC (Macsales.com) who deliver to Thailand by DHL in 3 days!

If you are going to spend 121,000THB on a MAC I suggest you go for this from the education store. MAC PRO.

Advantages over imac:

CPU upgradability to an extent.

Choice of Display

Far more internal capacity for storage, 4 HD's 2 opticals or 6 HD's and no Optical.

Memory limit much higher and easy to upgrade

Lightening fast graphics card ATI 5870 1GB available and user upgradeable for the future

PCI Express slots for anything you want too add

Far more connections ref Ethernet, Firewire USB, Audio.

Get the Mac Pro when your upto that price range it will last you for 5+ years. External storage on the imac can be done and have done it many times - however it's not a easy thing to do and voids your warranty. no such issue with the mac pro especially if you take extended Apple care for 3years.

Top of the line is the MAC PRO there is nothing faster or better in the mac range. But it's not cheap. But you can relax in the knowledge you have the best and can upgrade easily everything. Combine it with Dual 27" Cinema displays on the 5870 1GB for the ultimate enjoyment

got the memory as you suggested, saved a fortune. works great, easy to install and now have 16 gigs. I recommend highly. I owe you a been when you are in pattaya Thanks

[nikster]

I am getting my new mac computer monday. I am currently moving files from my windows computer to an external hard drive. My question is: I will have iTunes on my new computer but I have lots of content on iTunes in my Windows computer. Are these songs stored somewhere on my computer now, and if so, how do I get them to my new computer?

thanks in advance

I didn't read your link but your files are on your Windows machine. In iTunes, go to Preferences -> Advanced - there you see the iTunes media location. Now in Windows, navigate there, and drag it over to the Mac (maybe to an external USB drive first, then from there to the Mac...)

You don't need any special programs to do this.

[negreanu]

I owe you a been when you are in pattaya Thanks

Prefer a beer but ok Enjoy the imac.

[Lost in LOS]

I owe you a been when you are in pattaya Thanks

Prefer a beer but ok Enjoy the imac.

well at least I didnt type bean a beer it is

[SoloFlyer]

How is it working out?? Can someone recommend a good, but not too crowded forum for a potential newbie thinking about changing over??

[nikster]

How is it working out?? Can someone recommend a good, but not too crowded forum for a potential newbie thinking about changing over??

Whats wrong with crowded The more people read, the more people can help...

Apart from this very forum - which is quite good, I think - there's many others online.

Apple's own come to mind: http://discussions.apple.com/index.jspa

[bubba]

for excel and word you can get microsoft office for mac (a mac version of the same software you are using on your windows machine) or use iwork.

Iwork is a lot cheaper and I like it better, but you might find it easier to use ms office.

Will I be able to put my existing excell and word files in Iwork or will have to start new?

iWork is fully cross-compatible with MS Office, including Word, Excel, and Powerpoint. This means that you can open MS Office files with iWork, and you can save the files in either iWork format or MS Office format. One possible problem could be with Excel files that use macros, since iWork Numbers does not support those. That said, the previous version of Excel couldn't do that either, although it's been added to the new release.

Cost issues aside (and MS Office is a LOT more expensive), I actually prefer working with iWork. I find it much more intuitive and not cluttered up with a lot of things I don't use. Office has been called "bloatware" for that reason. I personally find Keynote a huge improvement in intuitiveness and features over Powerpoint for creating professional presentations. I use Keynote for all my presentations, and am quite often asked "how did you do that?". Mind you, I am no creative genius or superior geek in putting together presentations - it's just so easy with Keynote.